difficulties in mailing us

We would like to extend our heartfelt apologies regarding the substantial number of returned or lost books sent to our charity lately. We realize that many of you are spending your finite resources trying to make a difference for our charity, and that it is frustrating to receive your books back. We are doing our best to rectify the situation here, and below we offer an explanation of the problems we face – as well as the possible solutions.

The recognition of Kosovo as an independent country is—to put it mildly—a contentious issue in our town and throughout the region. Because we are a non-profit organization focused only on putting good literature into the hands of young people, we are trying to address this political matter as neutrally as possible. The problem is two-fold:

1. Mitrovicë/a is an ethnically divided town. There are two post offices, each serving separate population. The post offices answer to different government authorities and do not communicate. Most packages labeled “Serbia” or “Serbia & Montenegro” are being forwarded to the post office in north Mitrovica. Due to the current political climate, none of us are able to visit this post to pick up parcels. This problem is confounded by the fact that...
2. Many other nations have not ascribed an official postal status to the new Republic of Kosovo (including the U.S. ) Therefore, even if you try to mail packages to the Republic of Kosovo without adding “Serbia” or “Serbia & Montenegro,” you may be met by bureaucratic resistance from your own postal service.

In short: we no longer expect to receive any packages labeled “Serbia” or “Serbia & Montenegro.” We hope to address this issue in two ways:

1. We are interested in receiving books from donors who have the option of mailing to Kosovo. If you know that your post office accepts “Republic of Kosovo” as a national destination, and if you would like to donate books to our cause, please do not hesitate to contact me.
   
2. We are also grateful to anyone who feels like they want to take on the machine that is the post office. See if your local post office will let you send a postcard to us at

Blackbird Books
c/o Anthony Barilla
Fah 157
40010 Mitrovicë/a
Republic of Kosovo

If they do, send us an email and let us know that we can be expecting your correspondence. This will help us determine the mailing practices on a nation-by-nation basis. If they don’t let you send us a postcard without adding “Serbia” to the address, ask them why not? Try explaining that you’re helping a charity. Maybe, with your help, we can figure out a solution.